I heart chinooks!

Canadian winter is in full effect!  Temperatures well below zero have become a daily occurrence.  In the midst of the freezing temperatures and snowy days, though, chinooks have become some of my favorite things!  Chinooks, or "snow eaters" are warm winds that come in from the Rockies and warm up the temperatures and melt all of the snow.  They can last a few hours or a few days.  Today, we experienced a chinook and the temperature went from 19F degrees to 55F degrees in a few hours!  There is a downside though - windy windy windy!  Today the winds were blowing over 80 mph and so although it was warm outside, it wasn't too fun to be out there.  Penny enjoyed chasing all of the leaves and things blowing around, though.  AND, we lost power for about an hour and half due to the very windy conditions.

This is what it looks like when a chinook comes through (this was early in the AM)

This past week we celebrated Thanksgiving.  Although, the rest of the country wasn't, Matt and I insisted on having a Thanksgiving dinner, and celebrating the holiday.  I, for the first time, cooked the dinner entirely on my own and I have to say, it is super exhausting!  I made broccoli casserole, green bean casserole, corn, mashed potatoes from scratch, turkey with stuffing, and even a homemade apple pie!  Everything turned out really good but we had TONS of leftovers.  Although it didn't quite feel like Thanksgiving because we weren't able to be with all of our family and friends, it was still a good time.

I finally had to break down and buy Penny some snow boots.  Her poor little paws get so cold that she can barely walk!  So, I bought these (wish they weren't blue but that's the color that her size comes in).  They are basically like balloons that stretch over her paws so that they protect them from the cold and the snow and the salt but aren't so thick/big that she can't walk with them.  She was very hesitant at first and I only put them on her two front paws since those are the ones that seem to be bothered the most.  She walked a little awkwardly at first and wasn't sure how she felt about them but I think she will get used to them!

Penny with her boots on

This picture was right after she ate some snow.  I love that she still has some on her nose :)

Penny has also become much more of a snuggler now that she lives in Calgary.  She works very hard to position herself in the perfect spot on the couch to cuddle up with me or Matt or the blanket!

Matt and I have signed up for an indoor soccer team that starts in January so we are looking forward to getting back to playing and also to hopefully meeting some new friends!

Our House is feeling like home

Matt and I have been busy trying to make our new house feel like home.  Now, after purchasing a TV stand and a new dining room table, it is starting to feel complete.  We hung a few things this weekend but need to decorate more.  I need to get the Christmas decorations out and start decorating with those also!  Here are some updated pictures of our house...

Master Bedroom

Master Bedroom

Spare bedroom

Office

Living Room (still need to decorate this room!)  Penny posed for this pic :)

Kitchen complete with Matt pretending to cook

Dining Room with our new table!

I also recently discovered "Ice Wine," something that Canada is known for.  It's a desert wine that is made with grapes that are picked after the first deep freeze so the wine super concentrated and very sweet.  It's delicious!

And I always like to include a picture of my Penny pen!  She is doing really great up here.  She loves the place that we board her at, where she gets to play with lots of friends.  She loves eating the snow but hates walking in it (I think it's too cold for her poor little Houston paws so I am thinking of buying her these.  I am not sure how she will feel about them though!)

Snow, snow, and more snow!

We have already had several snowy days in Calgary, today included.  We just got back from a trip to Houston for a few days and the difference in the weather is shocking!  It made me realize how spoiled I was in Texas, with 80 degree weather in November!  Unfortunately, we were traveling for the funeral of a close friend, Alex.  The services were very beautiful and it was really special that all of his friends and family could get together to celebrate his life.  He was a wonderful friend and will be greatly missed.

It is now starting to get pretty cold here, and I am told that, "this is nothing," which really worries me!  This week, the highs are minus 1, 1, 1, minus 10, minus 7, and minus 4, in Celsius of course.  It just sounds intimidating!  Penny got to experience snow for the first time, and was really confused/excited.  She investigated by digging at and eating the snow.  After being outside in the snow for the first time, she came in and ran laps around the living room and kitchen!

I tried to capture a picture of her with her snow beard, but wasn't able to.  I can already tell that she is going to enjoy the snow here but she isn't used to the ice-cold winds yet (and neither am I).

Also, it is official!  Matt and I are serious residents of Canada now.

We finally got our Canadian driver's licenses, after a long, complicated process.  They wouldn't let us smile in the pictures either!!

In the near future, Matt and I are planning on taking a trip up to Banff to check out the mountains and the skiing/snowboarding.  I cannot wait!  We have also gotten to know some of Matt's coworkers, so it is feeling a little more homey here now.  Also, our neighbor invited us to a holiday block party coming up so that all of the people living in our area will be able to get to know each other, which will be great!